Deep down, my dad is a very decent man who sees eye to eye with me on most social issues.

But many Democrats see no advantage in meeting Republicans halfway on traditional Democratic issues like health care and education.

"Publishers saw books on African issues as not commercially viable," he said.

"I've never seen a Nigerian election run on issues," the senator said.

"You're going to see more of it, and on increasingly narrow issues."

You don't see that same sort of divide on other social issues, interestingly-such as abortion.

The two have solid relations and increasingly see eye-to-eye on international issues.

It's hard to see any substantive difference on issues.

I want to see a stronger lead on social justice and green issues.

"We want to see rapid progress on the troop withdrawal and other issues," one official said.